Women's LAX Powers to 19-3 Win Over Newbury

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's lacrosse team powered to a 19-3 win over Newbury College on Monday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference action at Alumni Field.

Ashley Murtha netted a season-high 11 goals to lead the Mitchell attack. Kate McCormack added five scores while Callie Santo Salvo contributed a pair and Willeen Pun finished with one. Goalie Gillian MacLellan made 10 saves between the pipes to earn her first career NECC win. 

Kyliene Phillips, Isabelle Pafford and Anastasia Meleo each found the back of the net for the Nighthawks. Goalie Keely Molloy had a strong game and recorded a season-high 22 saves against 45 total shots.

Mitchell went up 3-0 in the opening minutes of the contest as Murtha sandwiched a pair of goals around a score by McCormack. Pafford put Newbury on the board midway through the stanza with her team-leading fifth goal of the season. 

The rest of the half was all Mitchell, as the Mariners netted seven goals in the final 10:45 to lead 10-1 at intermission. Murtha scored five goals during the 7-0 stretch that also featured the first collegiate goal for Santo Salvo.

Pun got the scoring started in the second half with a goal in the opening seconds, and Mitchell led 12-1 before Newbury connected for back-to-back scores by Phillips and Meleo. The goal for Meleo was the first of her collegiate career.

Mitchell scored the last seven goals, all in the final 13:48 of the contest. Murtha, who also had a game-high 12 draw controls, added three more tallies to her total to get to 11 on the day. It marked the second time this season and the sixth time in her career that she has scored 10 or more goals in a game.

Mitchell (2-3 overall, 1-2 NECC) will next host Elms College on Thursday, April 13 at 4 p.m. Newbury (0-7 overall, 0-2 NECC) returns to action at home against Daniel Webster College on Wednesday, April 12 at 7 p.m.